Saturday, 7 November 2015

Review: Yuko has never really been one of my
favorite leads in a manga and this volume spotlights one of her biggest flaws
as a protagonist: she takes this whatever will be will be attitude which makes
her difficult to root for. Instead she chooses to spend her time talking in
circles and indulging in alcohol and smoking to pass the time while her clients
fall metaphorically apart. That said, xxxHolic rei’s first volume has an almost
hypnotic grasp over its readers and is the perfect book to read before going to
sleep.

This new series
returns Yuko to being the owner of the wish granting shop while Watanuki
resumes being her flunky. While it’s clear something is amiss throughout the
entire volume no one cares to explain it to the audience. Plot has never been
one of xxxHolic strong suits. The aspect that ultimately compels the reader to
continue is the strange relationship between Watanuki and Domeki. Watanuki
spends the entire book asking for answers while Yuko would rather be vague and
give non-answers that confuse both Watanuki and the reader.

I preferred when
Watanuki was the shopkeeper because he was a lot more clear on what his goal
was and was much more proactive in helping his clients that Yuko continues to
be. In conclusion, I would say, that this would be a good jumping on point for
new readers to the series. For those of us who have continued the series until
now, well, there’s really no escaping for us at this point.

Grade: B-

xxxHolic Rei is available in
print and digitally from Kodansha Comics.

Review: I
think the word “meh” is what best describes Mteamo Kiss ultimately. That isn’t
to say the entire series is subpar but in the final book when you would think the plot would really be ramped
up the protagonist just kind stands around absent mindedly happy and the entire
series ends with most of its subplots unresolved. In the afterward to the
series one the characters are chatting with the “author” of the book and one of
them calls the author a hack and, in all honesty, that probably wasn’t too far
off.

The first two
books have an actual tension but the third (which is also the final) book just
goes “oh yeah, right, this a romance” and so in the last two pages the leads
are a couple, inexplicably, despite having shared no actual moments or
chemistry. And then the audience just walks away without having gained or lost
anything. To the credit of the series, the first two volumes feature compelling,
colorful characters and interactions and feels like it takes the tired bodyswap
premise and uses it creatively. Ultimately Metamo Kiss is bland and
forgettable. It starts off well but in the end just kind of fizzles out.